Psalms 78
78
Psalm 78
A maskil#Title: Probably a literary or musical term of Asaph.
1My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
4We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
6so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
8They would not be like their ancestors—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
turned back on the day of battle;
10they did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by his law.
11They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.
12He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.
14He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.
15He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.
17But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
19They spoke against God;
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?
20True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,
streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat for his people?”
21When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
22for they did not believe in God
or trust in his deliverance.
23Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;
24he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
26He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
27He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds like sand on the seashore.
28He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
29They ate till they were gorged—
he had given them what they craved.
30But before they turned from what they craved,
even while the food was still in their mouths,
31God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.
32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33So he ended their days in futility
and their years in terror.
34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
35They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;
37their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
39He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the wasteland!
41Again and again they put God to the test;
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
42They did not remember his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
43the day he displayed his signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44He turned their river into blood;
they could not drink from their streams.
45He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
and frogs that devastated them.
46He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
their produce to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49He unleashed against them his hot anger,
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.
50He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.
51He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.
52But he brought his people out like a flock;
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand had taken.
55He drove out nations before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
57Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.
58They angered him with their high places;
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
59When God heard them, he was furious;
he rejected Israel completely.
60He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent he had set up among humans.
61He sent the ark of his might into captivity,
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62He gave his people over to the sword;
he was furious with his inheritance.
63Fire consumed their young men,
and their young women had no wedding songs;
64their priests were put to the sword,
and their widows could not weep.
65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
69He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.
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Psalms 78: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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Psalms 78
78
Psalm 78
A maskil by Asaph.
1Open your ears to my teachings, my people.
Turn your ears to the words from my mouth.
2I will open my mouth to illustrate points.
I will explain what has been hidden long ago,
3things that we have heard and known about,
things that our parents have told us.
4We will not hide them from our children.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s power and great deeds
and the miraculous things he has done.
5He established written instructions for Jacob’s people.
He gave his teachings to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors to make them known to their children
6so that the next generation would know them.
Children yet to be born ⌞would learn them⌟.
They will grow up and tell their children
7to trust God, to remember what he has done,
and to obey his commands.
8Then they will not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation.
Their hearts were not loyal.
Their spirits were not faithful to God.
9The men of Ephraim, well-equipped with bows ⌞and arrows⌟,
turned ⌞and ran⌟ on the day of battle.
10They had not been faithful to God’s promise.#78:10 Or “covenant.”
They refused to follow his teachings.
11They forgot what he had done—
the miracles that he had shown them.
12In front of their ancestors he performed miracles
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13He divided the sea and led them through it.
He made the waters stand up like a wall.
14He guided them by a cloud during the day
and by a fiery light throughout the night.
15He split rocks in the desert.
He gave them plenty to drink, an ocean of water.
16He made streams come out of a rock.
He made the water flow like rivers.
17They continued to sin against him,
to rebel in the desert against the Most High.
18They deliberately tested God by demanding the food they craved.
19They spoke against God by saying,
“Can God prepare a banquet in the desert?
20True, he did strike a rock,
and water did gush out,
and the streams did overflow.
But can he also give us bread or provide us, his people, with meat?”
21When the Lord heard this, he became furious.
His fire burned against Jacob
and his anger flared up at Israel
22because they did not believe God
or trust him to save them.
23In spite of that, he commanded the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.
24He rained manna down on them to eat
and gave them grain from heaven.
25Humans ate the bread of the mighty ones,
and God sent them plenty of food.
26He made the east wind blow in the heavens
and guided the south wind with his might.
27He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds like the sand on the seashore.
28He made the birds fall in the middle of his camp,
all around his dwelling place.
29They ate more than enough.
He gave them what they wanted,
30but they still wanted more.
While the food was still in their mouths,
31the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed their strongest men and slaughtered the best young men in Israel.
32In spite of all this, they continued to sin,
and they no longer believed in his miracles.
33He brought their days to an end like a whisper in the wind.
He brought their years to an end in terror.
34When he killed ⌞some of⌟ them, ⌞the rest⌟ searched for him.
They turned from their sins and eagerly looked for God.
35They remembered that God was their rock,
that the Most High was their defender.
36They flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues.
37Their hearts were not loyal to him.
They were not faithful to his promise.
38But he is compassionate.
He forgave their sin.
He did not destroy them.
He restrained his anger many times.
He did not display all of his fury.
39He remembered that they were only flesh and blood,
a breeze that blows and does not return.
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness!
How often they caused him grief in the desert!
41Again and again they tested God,
and they pushed the Holy One of Israel to the limit.
42They did not remember his power—
the day he freed them from their oppressor,
43when he performed his miraculous signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the fields of Zoan.
44He turned their rivers into blood
so that they could not drink from their streams.
45He sent a swarm of flies that bit them
and frogs that ruined them.
46He gave their crops to grasshoppers
and their produce to locusts.
47He killed their vines with hail
and their fig trees with frost.
48He let the hail strike their cattle
and bolts of lightning strike their livestock.
49He sent his burning anger, rage, fury, and hostility against them.
He sent an army of destroying angels.
50He cleared a path for his anger.
He did not spare them.
He let the plague take their lives.
51He slaughtered every firstborn in Egypt,
the ones born in the tents of Ham when their fathers were young.
52But he led his own people out like sheep
and guided them like a flock through the wilderness.
53He led them safely.
They had no fear while the sea covered their enemies.
54He brought them into his holy land,
to this mountain that his power had won.
55He forced nations out of their way
and gave them the land of the nations as their inheritance.
He settled the tribes of Israel in their own tents.
56They tested God Most High and rebelled against him.
They did not obey his written instructions.
57They were disloyal and treacherous like their ancestors.
They were like arrows shot from a defective bow.
58They made him angry because of their illegal worship sites.
They made him furious because they worshiped idols.
59When God heard, he became furious.
He completely rejected Israel.
60He abandoned his dwelling place in Shiloh,
the tent where he had lived among humans.
61He allowed his power to be taken captive
and handed his glory over to an oppressor.
62He let swords kill his people.
He was furious with those who belonged to him.
63Fire consumed his best young men,
so his virgins heard no wedding songs.
64His priests were cut down with swords.
The widows ⌞of his priests⌟ could not even weep ⌞for them⌟.
65Then the Lord woke up like one who had been sleeping,
like a warrior sobering up from ⌞too much⌟ wine.
66He struck his enemies from behind
and disgraced them forever.
67He rejected the tent of Joseph.
He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which he loved.
69He built his holy place to be like the high heavens,
like the earth which he made to last for a long time.
70He chose his servant David.
He took him from the sheep pens.
71He brought him from tending the ewes that had lambs
so that David could be the shepherd of the people of Jacob,
of Israel, the people who belonged to the Lord.
72With unselfish devotion David became their shepherd.
With skill he guided them.
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